Mike Armstrong

Inquirer Columnist

Cumberland Advisors Inc., a money-management firm based in Vineland, N.J., is opening an office in Sarasota, Fla., in January.

Chief investment officer David R. Kotok, who co-founded the firm in Cumberland County in 1973, will be based out of the new office along with about 10 other employees, according to spokesman Michael McNiven.

In a statement, Cumberland Advisers stressed that it was not leaving New Jersey "contrary to media reports." During a segment on the Bloomberg Surveillance radio program Tuesday morning, guest host Christopher Whalen, of Institutional Risk Analytics, said that Cumberland Advisors was moving out of New Jersey.

That prompted the firm, which employs 25 people, to issue a statement to clarify that it intended to continue to operate its Vineland office even as it opens a new office in Florida.

McNiven, an investment adviser representative, said portfolio managers John Mousseau and Peter Demirali will continue to operate the tax-free and taxable bond investment practices from Vineland.

The firm, with $1.3 billion under management, manages assets for institutions, individuals, retirement plans and other entities.

Cumberland Advisors said it has experienced two years of record growth and has added a growing number of clients in Florida and the Southeast. That's why the firm felt the need to have a bricks-and-mortar presence in that region, McNiven said.